Review of SUPER TROOPERS 2 – Rated R

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar

The Mustache Rides Again

The five Vermont Highway Patrol officer and their Captain are back in “Super Troopers 2”! When we last saw them, they had assumed their new jobs as Spurberry Police at the end of “Super Troopers”. 16 years later, though far less in this cinematic universe, the crew find themselves in a very odd situation. Arcot Ramathorn (Jay Chandrasekhar), MacIntyre Womack (Steve Lemme), Carl Foster (Paul Soter), Robert “Rabbit” Roto (Erik Stolhanske), and Rodney Farva (Kevin Heffernan) have since been removed from their law enforcement duties. However, as a small area of Canada is discovered to actually be on American soil, Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter) re-hires the boys and their loveable Captain O’Hagan (Brian Cox) to assist in the transition from Canadian-to-American life. Met with resistance from the locals and their Mounted division, the boys soon discover boxes of drugs and other contraband that has them all excited to crack the case once again; and of course, with all of their shenanigans along the way!

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 16 years since “Super Troopers” was released. I remember being a young kid, in 5th grade to be exact, watching the original and then doing my part and showing all of my friends. Since that moment, Broken Lizard has been one of my favorite film teams working; “Beerfest” is still one of my all-time favorites as well, with other hilarious films like: “Club Dread” and “The Slammin’ Salmon” as well. Unfortunately, their latest offerings weren’t met with the craze of their first few, so the films slowed to a screeching halt. On March 24th of 2015, after receiving the “green light” from the studio, they setup an Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund the film. After only 26 hours, they hit their 2 million goal and “Super Troopers 2” was coming our way! (Yes, I was one of many who helped fund this movie!) The benefit of films such as these is that the 5 members of Broken Lizard are still best friends. Many of them tour together for comedy shows and other public appearances, so the chemistry is still fully-intact. Their jokes flow brilliantly and give the audience exactly what they want. So many sequences had me laughing violently and a few scenes even brought me to tears with laughter!

Laughs were always going to be expected from this bunch, but I think the most surprising aspect is how timely, and at-home that felt. Sure, they had some callbacks to the original film, but there were never going to try to complete retread former territory. The material is fresh, the gags are hilarious, and the newcomers are surprisingly-game for this laugh fest! Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Lowe, Tyler Labine, Will Sasso, and Hayes MacArthur join the fun this time around, all clearly thoroughly enjoying themselves in their outrageous roles. Of course, the film is also littered with hilarious cameos (some new and some old) that give you the old feeling of the classic Broken Lizard films. However, “Super Troopers 2” does occasionally “beat the dead horse” with some of its jokes. Many shots are taken at Canada, which seem a little repetitive at times, but it’s the only issue I find in the film. It is impressive how the film avoids falling-into the “comedy sequel trap” (with the sub-par “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” and the painful “Zoolander 2”), but the film has the perfect amount of balance for those familiar and those new to Broken Lizard and I was left thoroughly entertained, satisfied, and excited for the future of Broken Lizard! NOW, BRING ON “POTFEST: BEERFEST PART 2”!!